Issue 13, 2016

In situ ion-exchange synthesis of SnS2/g-C3N4 nanosheets heterojunction for enhancing photocatalytic activity

Abstract

In this paper, free standing graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets have been synthesized by mixed solvents (water/IPA = 2/1) liquid phase exfoliation, and a series of SnS2/g-C3N4 heterojunctions with different contents of SnS2 have been prepared via a simple ion-exchange process. Exfoliated g-C3N4 presents a two-dimension sheet-like structure with the thickness of 2.8 nm and small SnS2 nanoparticles with diameter of 5–10 nm are well anchored on the surface of g-C3N4 nanosheets, which was proved by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The 4.0-SnS2/g-C3N4 sample shows the highest photocurrent density of 13.66 μA cm−2 at 0.8 V, which is about 1.5 time of the g-C3N4 nanosheets and 2 times of the bulk g-C3N4, respectively. Photocatalytic measurement also demonstrated that constructing heterojunction of SnS2/g-C3N4 can improve the photocatalytic efficiency as compared to pure g-C3N4 and g-C3N4 nanosheets. The highly effective photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic activities of SnS2/g-C3N4 heterojunctions are attributed to the efficient separation of photogenerated hole–electron pairs. This work may provide a novel concept for the rational design of high performance g-C3N4-based photocatalysts.

Graphical abstract: In situ ion-exchange synthesis of SnS2/g-C3N4 nanosheets heterojunction for enhancing photocatalytic activity

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 Oct 2015
Accepted
28 Dec 2015
First published
06 Jan 2016

RSC Adv., 2016,6, 10802-10809

Author version available

In situ ion-exchange synthesis of SnS2/g-C3N4 nanosheets heterojunction for enhancing photocatalytic activity

Y. Liu, P. Chen, Y. Chen, H. Lu, J. Wang, Z. Yang, Z. Lu, M. Li and L. Fang, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 10802 DOI: 10.1039/C5RA21506D

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